President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reportedly rejected moves to extend emergency rule in Rivers State, directing the sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas (retd), to prepare his handover as suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly prepare to return to office on September 18.
According to Vanguard, Tinubu issued the directive last Wednesday during a closed-door meeting with Ibas at the Presidential Villa. The administrator was instructed to compile a comprehensive handover document capturing all funds inherited from Fubara, revenue generated under the emergency rule, expenditures, and projects executed within the six-month period.
The development has effectively ended a push by some lawmakers for a three-month extension that would have kept Ibas in office until December. The plan was to allow him to complete reconstruction of the state Assembly complex, conclude the workers’ verification exercise, and install sensitive government equipment. Had it succeeded, Fubara and the legislature would not have resumed until January 2026.
Resistance to the extension was strong, with Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, insisting the emergency rule must end as scheduled. Wike, after the August 30 local government elections, told reporters that suspended officials were prepared to return to Government House. Rivers APC chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, reinforced that position two days later, affirming that the September 18 deadline remained sacrosanct.
A presidency source confirmed that Ibas must submit his handover report at least two days before embarking on a scheduled vacation. Tinubu is expected to make a formal pronouncement on lifting the emergency rule, six months after it was imposed on March 18 to ease political tensions between Wike and Fubara.
Commenting on the development, a Port Harcourt-based human rights activist said the decision aligns with the President’s democratic image.
“Upon his return from vacation, Mr. President is heading to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he will be under global democratic scrutiny. It is only morally right, as a self-styled democrat, to restore all democratic institutions in Rivers State to avoid backlash from civil societies and the international media,” he stated.
